"Prolo to the people" prolotherapy pop-up clinics

Prolotherapy pop-up clinics:our most popular community service

What is this all about?Santiam Community Health is a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to educate, support and provide for those in our medical, health and fitness fields who are under- or uninsured or otherwise experience barriers to receiving comprehensive healthcare. We strive to improve the health of our community by improving the health literacy of our community members, focusing on those in the health and fitness fields. Through community health education classes, workshops and medical services, we strive to improve the health of our community, one member at a time. We seek to expand health education and services also to those traditionally under-served by the customary medical model, including: low-income, students, seniors, active military, veterans, those on SSI and/or experiencing significant chronic medical conditions.

We receive donations of facility space and medical supplies in order to hold our health classes, workshops and the Prolo Pop-Up clinics. As the term “Pop-Up” suggests, these are temporary clinics held at fitness centers, clinics, community centers, pretty much any location that welcomes us and has a compatible mission. Once a location, day and time is confirmed, we get the word out there and treat community members using prolotherapy. Dr. Angela Cortal is our current staff physician who provides these services.

What is Prolotherapy?Prolotherapy is one type of Regenerative Injection Therapies and is a treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain. The prolotherapy treatment enhances the growth and formation of new ligaments, tendons and cartilage in areas where there is weakness, injury or degeneration. Any joint in the body can be treated successfully with prolotherapy regardless of when the injury happened. The treatment is also beneficial for many types of musculoskeletal pain.

If you have not heard of Prolotherapy before, you can read our "What is Prolo" document below, or read more on one of the country’s two main Prolotherapy professional organizations’ websites: AAOM and AOAPRM (Dr. Angela is a member of the latter). More questions? See if it is answered on this FAQ page.

ParticipatingIf you would like to participate in an upcoming Prolotherapy Pop-Up clinic, register to save your spot ahead of time and review the related forms and information below. Print it out and bring it with you, or arrive 15 minutes early to review and fill out intake and consent forms.

Depending on the facility’s preference, visit scheduling may be done directly through the SCH website, or through the facility. Treatment can cover one region of concern per visit (such as all injections indicated in a shoulder, knee, or low back). If you would like to have multiple areas treated, we try to accommodate back-to-back visits to achieve this. You can also schedule sequential visits as for moderate to severe conditions often several treatments is needed (i.e. if we are at a location twice a month, you are welcome to schedule a visit for both times). We try to accommodate walk-ins to the extent that the schedule allows.

Cost of TreatmentStandard prolotherapy rates are in the $200-300 range. Please inquire about applying for non-profit participation- this is the main reason we hold these Pop-Up clinics, to provide for those who may otherwise not be able to access or afford Regenerative Injection Therapies. For those who qualify, due to the donations we receive, we are able to treat a set number of patients at a reduced rate (see the application for the most up-to-date discounted pricing). The number of visits per month and the exact rate can vary slightly, again depending on the current state of donations received. More donations means more discounts we can offer. Lastly, as the more successful our Pop-Up clinics are, again the greater discount we are able to offer, since as a non-profit we trying to help the most community members possible, not accumulate the most profits.

A note about what we do not offer:Due to the logistics of our "pop-up" style clinic, we provide prolotherapy-related medical services.At this time, our staff physician Dr. Cortal offers prolotherapy treatments for those with acute and chronic pain conditions. If you would like to be seen, but not receive prolotherapy, the visit can focus on nutritional counseling instead. With our current set up, we are unable to prescribe nor manage any medications, order lab testing nor offer any screening or primary care services. Referrals can be made for these concerns (for example allergies, anxiety, depression, hypertension, diabetes, digestive symptoms, etc.). Patients should already have a Primary Care Physician established. A referral can be offered if needed.

To find out more about the qualifications for non-profit participation, review our application: